1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of vascular therapy for application to a limb of a body, and more particularly, to a compression treatment system having a controller that regulates fluid flow and a method of use thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A major concern for immobile patients and persons alike are medical conditions that form clots in the blood, such as, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and peripheral edema. Such patients and persons include those undergoing surgery, anesthesia, extended periods of bed rest, etc. These blood clotting conditions generally occur in the deep veins of the lower extremities and/or pelvis. These veins, such as the iliac, femoral, popliteal, and tibial return deoxygenated blood to the heart. For example, when blood circulation in these veins is retarded due to illness, injury or inactivity, there is a tendency for blood to accumulate or pool. A static pool of blood is ideal for clot formations. A major risk associated with this condition is interference with cardiovascular circulation. Most seriously, a fragment of the blood clot can break loose and migrate. A pulmonary emboli can form blocking a main pulmonary artery, which may be life threatening.
The conditions and resulting risks associated with patient immobility may be controlled or alleviated by applying intermittent pressure to a patient's limb, such as, for example, a leg including the thigh, calf and foot to assist in blood circulation. Known devices have been employed to assist in blood circulation, such as, one piece pads and compression boots. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,662 to Morris et al. entitled “Portable, Self-Contained Apparatus For Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Prophylaxis” and U.S. Pat. No 6,494,852 to Barak et al. entitled “Portable Ambulant Pneumatic Compression System.”
For example, sequential compression devices have been used, which consist of an air pump connected to a disposable wraparound pad or garment by a series of air tubes. The wraparound pad is configured for placement about a portion of a patient's leg, such as the thigh, calf, or foot. Multiple pads may be mounted to the leg to cover the various portions of the leg. Air is then forced into different parts of the wraparound pad(s) in sequence, creating pressure around the thigh, calf, or foot, thereby improving venous return.
These known devices may suffer from various drawbacks due to their bulk and cumbersome nature of use. These drawbacks reduce comfort, compliance and may disadvantageously prevent mobility of the patient as recovery progresses after surgery.
Further, such known sequential compression devices typically include a controller assembly that regulates air flow and pressure in the wraparound pad(s). The controller assembly can be mounted to a bed and plugged into a wall outlet for power during use. This arrangement, however, can present challenges for example, when the patient needs to perform certain tasks, e.g., bathroom, physical therapy, etc. In these situations, the pads are usually removed, thus disadvantageously discontinuing vascular therapy. Thus, these controller assemblies suffer from various drawbacks because they do not accommodate patient transport or mobility and are not typically adaptable for inflation of thigh, calf, and foot pads.
Other sequential compression devices and systems are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,879 to Bolam et al., entitled “Gradient Sequential Compression System for Preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis,” discloses a gradient sequential compression system to prevent deep vein thrombosis. The system has a controller which includes a plurality of feeder valves pneumatically connected to each of the chambers and a microprocessor-based control unit for opening only one of the feeder valves at a time during an inflation cycle, so that each of the chambers can be independently inflated to predetermined pressure levels. The programming of the system controller can either be performed manually by the user through a display interface or by the use of a universal connecting device that senses the mode of operation associated with a sleeve connected thereto and automatically configures the system controller.
Another sequential compression device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,359 to Bock et al., entitled “Sequential Compression Device Controller,” that is currently owned by the assignee of the present application, Tyco Healthcare Group LP. Bock et al. disclose a controller for applying sequential compression to a limb and includes a variable speed motor connected to a pump and an electronic control circuit to drive the pump motor. The system disclosed in Bock et al. includes a pressure transducer in communication with a manifold and adapted for monitoring sleeve pressure.
Another known system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,254 to Skelton. Skelton discloses a blood pressure monitoring system for automatic unattended operation. During the inflation of cuff, an initial inflation period is defined between the start time and a predetermined end time. After the predetermined end time, the pressure in the cuff is measured and compared to the initial cuff pressure. A microprocessor determines the difference between the initial pressure and the final pressure over the inflation period and produces a curve for identifying the attached cuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,966 to Hanna discloses an apparatus and a method for the automatic identification of a given one of a predetermined plurality of cuff assemblies that are connectable to a sphygmomanometer for use in a blood pressure measurement procedure. A cuff assembly has a corresponding gas-flow restrictor which allows pressure measurements during the deflation of a cuff to be correlated for identification. Hanna preferably uses at least two pressure transducers. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,981 to Kankkunen discloses a flow restriction means for identifying a cuff.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,280 to Hood Jr., a cuff size is determined based on the propagation time for an audio pulse to propagate to, through, and back from the cuff that is inflated to a predetermined pressure. The measured time is compared to a predetermined threshold value that correlates the measured time to an adult or pediatric cuff thereby identifying the attached cuff. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,654 to Malkamaki relates to automatic identification for a cuff using a trigger pulse from a valve to a pressure sensing element followed by measuring the width of a detected pulse.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,676 to Rantala et al., an automatic identification method for the cuff of a sphygmomanometer is disclosed. The cuff is identified by measuring values of pressure in at least two spaced apart locations and determining the difference in the pressure values wherein a difference in pressure identifies a pediatric cuff while no pressure difference signifies an adult cuff.
Therefore, it would be desirable to overcome the disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art with a compression treatment system having a controller that is adaptable for inflating thigh, calf and foot sleeves and accommodates patient transport and mobility to provide continuous vascular therapy. It would be desirable if the system automatically detects the types of garments connected thereto and having any combination or number of bladders therein. It would be highly desirable if the system included a pneumatic circuit that facilitates pressure monitoring with a single pressure transducer to achieve the advantages of the present disclosure. It is contemplated that the compression treatment system is easily and efficiently manufactured.